Vital qualifications

Get the right accent

Many people advertise themselves as Mandarin teachers but are unable to speak the language with the correct accent. Imagine your disappointment if, after several months of study, you travel on the mainland and find you are not understood and cannot understand the locals. In Hong Kong, teachers with bad accents – very bad accents – are a big problem!

There are two certificates a Mandarin teacher should possess that guarantee fluent knowledge of the language - and the correct accent. 		     

1.      Certificate in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, issued by an appropriately accredited organisation. I have this certificate from Beijing Languages and Culture University.

2.      Certificate of Proficiency in Putonghua (Mandarin), which is issued by the Training and Testing Centre of the State Language Commission of China. A teacher should have attained Grade One, Level A or B. I have Grade One, Level B.

So don’t be cheated by a non-native Mandarin speaker - check teachers’ qualifications.

By the way, I don't speak English as well as this website suggests; one of my students, a journalist, helped me write it. But my spoken English is perfectly adequate for teaching Putonghua - and we won't be speaking much English after a few months of classes.